Friday 23 December 2011 04.33 EST
First published on Friday 23 December 2011 04.33 EST

To Rodin's famous depiction in marble from 1889 and Robert Doisneau's photograph outside the Hotel de Ville in Paris in 1950, must now be added another classic image of a kiss - and very much in the style of 2011.

Like Rodin's and Doisneau's before it, this involves a passionate embrace between two lovers that captures something of the essence of human love. But there are two important differences: the subjects are both women, and one is in navy dress uniform.

Marissa Gaeta, petty officer 2nd class of Placerville, California, is shown kissing her girlfriend Citlalic Snell, also a naval officer, of Los Angeles, in the rain at Virginia Beach. Behind them is the USS Oak Hill, an amphibious landing ship from which Gaeta has just disembarked after 80 days at sea.

By being selected as the crew member to make the traditional "first kiss" ashore, Gaeta stepped off the ship and into the history books.

It was a groundbreaking meeting of same-sex lips, the first since the ending of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in September, under which gay service personnel were not permitted to be open about their sexuality.

"It's something new, that's for sure," Gaeta told reporters after the kiss. "It's nice to be able to be myself. It's been a long time coming."

David Bauer, commanding officer of the USS Oak Hill, predicted before it happened that the kiss would largely be a non-event. "It's going to happen and the crew's going to enjoy it. We're going to move on," he said.

Both women are navy fire "controlmen" who maintain and operate weapons systems on ships - although their job title seems a little inappropriate in the circumstances. They met at training school where they shared a room.

Snell was dressed in a leather jacket, scarf and blue jeans having been on a break from her guided-missile destroyer, the USS Bainbridge.

She said it had been difficult at the start of their two-year relationship under the "don't ask, don't tell" regime. "We did have to hide it a lot in the beginning, a lot of people were not always supportive. But we can finally be honest about who we are."